BOOK BITES
TRUTH AND TOLERANCE: Christian Belief and World Religions, by Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger (now Pope Benedict XVI). Ignatius Press, 2003, 284 pp.
The late Pope John Paul II named Joseph Ratzinger Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in 1981. Was he to become a German Rottweiler to protect Rome from liberal trends in the Roman Catholic Church, as suggested in the press? The Catholic Church has many liberal voices crying for change. Will there be changes, now that Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger is Pope Benedict XVI?
TRUTH AND TOLERANCE is about truth. “…beyond all particular questions, the real problem lies in the question about truth. Can truth be recognized? Or, is the question about truth inappropriate in the realm of religion and belief? But what meaning does belief then have, what positive meaning does religion have, if it cannot be connected with truth?” (Preface)
The author is a significant scholar in the Church and wrote several other books before his election to be the new pontiff. In this book there is no lack of references to German philosophers and theologians from Kant to Bultmann. Ratzinger says: “Reason needs to listen to the great religious traditions if it does not wish to become deaf, blind, and mute concerning the most essential elements of human existence” (P. 252) How will truth and tolerance play out under Pope Benedict XVI?
The Renouf / Nelson Library is located in the Ocotillo Room in La Parroquia. It is available on the Library Link of St. Philip’s Website.
…The Library Committee